Undergraduate Information

Undergraduate Program

The communication major prepares you for a variety of career opportunities as well as preparing you for graduate work. To become a communication major, you must be a student in good standing at WIU. This means that you need a grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher to declare a major in Communication.

As a communication major you must complete:

Core Courses

Class Discussion

The four required core courses are:

Communication Sequences

Rhetoric
The rhetoric sequence focuses on understanding the situation, the audience, and the speaker and how they influence persuasive messages. Specific areas of study in the rhetoric sequence are political style, the rhetoric of social and political movements, and the rhetorical discourse and controversies that occur in the public sphere.

Required courses are:
COMM 312 Rhetorical Theory and Criticism
COMM 441 Rhetorical Processes in Politics
Persuasion
The persuasion sequence focuses on the theory behind reinforcing, developing, and changing the attitudes and opinions of people. Topics such as advertising campaigns, political campaigns, and social movements are studied in this sequence’s courses.

Required courses are:
COMM 356 Introduction to Persuasion
COMM 456 Persuasive Campaigns
Interpersonal communication
The interpersonal communication sequence focuses on the communication patterns used to initiate, maintain, and dissolve relationships. The individual communication strategies that people use in relationships are of particular interest in this sequence.

Required courses are:
COMM 344 Interpersonal Communication
COMM 410 Theory and Methodology in Interpersonal Communication
Organizational communication
The organizational communication sequence focuses on the form, structure, and use of communication in groups and organizational settings. Topics such as conflict management, superior and subordinate communication, and organizational culture are studied in this sequence’s courses.

Required courses are:
COMM 343 Organizational Communication
COMM 413 Advanced Organizational Communication

Recommended Minors

Selecting a minor usually depends on your interests and career goals. Currently, WIU communication students have selected minors in over 35 different departments that include Spanish, French, English, Journalism, Broadcasting, History, Sociology, Psychology, Political Science, Marketing, Women Studies, African American Studies to name a few. Please consult with Jennifer Grimm, the Communication Academic Advisor, who is knowledgeable of available minors and their specific requirements.

Course Descriptions

For more information on the Communication program and course descriptions, see the WIU Undergraduate Course Catalog